Vietnam, China sign 14 agreements during top leader’s visit to Beijing, pledging to develop infrastructure, including railways

[Beijingwalker]

Vietnam, China sign 14 agreements during top leader’s visit to Beijing​

A meeting with President Xi ended with pledges to develop infrastructure, including railways.
By RFA Staff
2024.08.20

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks next to Vietnam’s Party General Secretary and President To Lam as they pass by the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2024.
Andres Martinez Casares/Pool via Reuters

Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam rounded off his three-day visit to China on Tuesday, his first foreign trip since being appointed to his country’s top job on Aug. 3.

Lam and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged in a meeting on Monday to address territorial conflicts in the South China Sea to “maintain peace and stability,” and to work together to “continue bolstering collaboration in security and defense, boosting economic, trade and investment cooperation,” the Vietnamese government said in a statement.

The two witnessed the signing of 14 cooperation agreements, including one between the Vietnam News Agency and Xinhua News Agency and a memorandum of understanding between health ministries on cooperation.

Other agreements included protocols on phytosanitary requirements for fresh coconuts and frozen durian exports from Vietnam, as well as an agreement on quarantine and health requirements for Vietnam’s exports of farmed crocodiles.

A main focus was infrastructure development, including plans for three standard-gauge cross-border rail links; the 555 kilometer (345 mile) Vientiane-Vung Ang railway, linking the Lao capital with a Vietnamese port; and the Hanoi metro, building on agreements reached during Xi’s visit to Vietnam last December 2023.

Lam asked for China’s support through “high-quality investment” in key projects, bringing together Hanoi’s “Two Corridors One Belt,” policy and China’s “Belt and Road,” initiative, to construct “major and symbolic works to match their political trust,” Vietnam said.

Xi told Lam that China was ready to “accelerate the ‘hard connectivity’ of railway, expressway and port infrastructure, enhance the ‘soft connectivity’ of smart customs, and jointly build a secure and stable industrial and supply chain,” according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A spokesperson for the Chinese ministry, Mao Ning, told a regular media briefing on Monday that rail links between China and Vietnam, launched in November 2017 opened “a new channel for China-Vietnam logistics transportation,” cutting transport time, increasing the efficiency of customs clearance, optimizing hub functions and significantly increasing the range of goods traded across the border, “becoming a fast track to promote economic and trade exchanges.”

The two leaders are likely to meet next in Hanoi after Xi accepted an invitation from Lam to visit the Vietnamese capital.

 

[ety]

China should have no part in the Laos-Vietnam railway line of 500 km, China should focus building China-Laos-Thailand railway instead.

 

[ety]

Vietnam, China ink 14 agreements during To Lam’s visit​

Minh Nguye

Meetings between Vietnamese and Chinese top leaders centered on strengthening the relations between the two parties and states, economic ties, and nourishing long-lasting youth relations.

Fourteen agreements were signed during the ongoing visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President To Lam, his first overseas trip since being Party chief earlier this month.

Vietnamese and Chinese officials sign agreements in the presence of General Secretary and President To Lam (L) and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte​

The two neighboring countries, Vietnam and China, signed cooperation documents on August 19 shortly after the talks between General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

The signed documents are:

1. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and the National Academy of Governance
2. An MOU on industrial cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
3. An MOU on healthcare cooperation between the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Vietnam and the National Health Commission of China
4. An MOU on enhancing cooperation and information exchange in banking operations between the State Bank of Vietnam and the People’s Bank of China
5. An MOU between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) on promoting social and livelihood projects
6. A protocol on plant quarantine for Vietnamese fresh coconut exported to China signed between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Chinese General Administration of Customs
7. A protocol on health quarantine for crocodiles bred in Vietnam and exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs
8. A protocol on plant quarantine and food safety for frozen durian exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China
9. A certificate of handing over the results of the project to assist Vietnam in the planning of the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Haiphong standard gauge railways signed between the two governments.
10. An official letter between Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and the CIDCA on the feasibility study of the technical aid project for planning two standard gauge railway lines: Lang Son – Hanoi and Mong Cai – Ha Long – Hanoi
11. An agreement on cooperation between the Vietnam News Agency and Xinhua News Agency
12. An MOU on strengthening cooperation between the Vietnam Television and the China Central Radio and Television
13. An MOU on cooperation in traditional medicine between the Ministry of Health and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
14. An MOU on press and media exchange program for 2024-2029 between the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA).

Especially, two agreements were announced at the signing ceremony were the MOUs on economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s Hainan and Shandong provinces.

The two leaders and their wives were at the meeting in Beijing on August 19. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte

Forging Vietnam-China relations
​

Relations between Vietnam and China have been on the rise after more than 30 years of normalization, especially in the 15 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008.

During the three-day visit to China starting from August 18, General Secretary and President To Lam met with Chinese top leaders, including General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning, and other senior officials.

General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping in a talk. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte​

The top-level talks focused on measures to strengthen relations between the two parties and the states, while promoting people-to-people links. In addition, the meetings largely addressed cooperation in various fields, mostly trade, and investment. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner with the bilateral trade hit US$230 billion in 2023.

At the meeting with To Lam, Xi Jinping said China has consistently prioritized Vietnam in its neighborhood diplomacy, supporting Vietnam’s adherence to the Party’s leadership, adoption of the socialist path appropriate to its circumstances, and advancement of renovation and socialist modernization. Xi also emphasized that he has developed a close friendship and positive working relationship with Lam.

Lam, meanwhile, described his visit to China as an affirmation by the Party and the Vietnamese government of the importance of the bilateral ties and stated that China is Vietnam’s top foreign policy priority.

General Secretary and President To Lam and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Photo: Van Hieu​

At the meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, To Lam welcomed China’s involvement in three planned standard railway lines linking Vietnam and China, as well as cooperation on the Vientiane-Vung Ang railway and urban railways in Hanoi.

Lam’s first stop during the visit was Guangzhou, Guangdong which borders Vietnam, where President Ho Chi Minh led revolutionary activities. The two sides stressed the importance of nurturing the Vietnam-China long-lasting youth relationship and boosting people-to-people exchanges.

Vietnam, China ink 14 agreements during To Lam’s visit

hanoitimes.vn

 

[Michael]

Vietnam, China ink 14 agreements during To Lam’s visit​

Minh Nguye

Meetings between Vietnamese and Chinese top leaders centered on strengthening the relations between the two parties and states, economic ties, and nourishing long-lasting youth relations.

Fourteen agreements were signed during the ongoing visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President To Lam, his first overseas trip since being Party chief earlier this month.

Vietnamese and Chinese officials sign agreements in the presence of General Secretary and President To Lam (L) and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte​

The two neighboring countries, Vietnam and China, signed cooperation documents on August 19 shortly after the talks between General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

The signed documents are:

1. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and the National Academy of Governance
2. An MOU on industrial cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
3. An MOU on healthcare cooperation between the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Vietnam and the National Health Commission of China
4. An MOU on enhancing cooperation and information exchange in banking operations between the State Bank of Vietnam and the People’s Bank of China
5. An MOU between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) on promoting social and livelihood projects
6. A protocol on plant quarantine for Vietnamese fresh coconut exported to China signed between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Chinese General Administration of Customs
7. A protocol on health quarantine for crocodiles bred in Vietnam and exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs
8. A protocol on plant quarantine and food safety for frozen durian exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China
9. A certificate of handing over the results of the project to assist Vietnam in the planning of the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Haiphong standard gauge railways signed between the two governments.
10. An official letter between Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and the CIDCA on the feasibility study of the technical aid project for planning two standard gauge railway lines: Lang Son – Hanoi and Mong Cai – Ha Long – Hanoi
11. An agreement on cooperation between the Vietnam News Agency and Xinhua News Agency
12. An MOU on strengthening cooperation between the Vietnam Television and the China Central Radio and Television
13. An MOU on cooperation in traditional medicine between the Ministry of Health and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
14. An MOU on press and media exchange program for 2024-2029 between the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA).

Especially, two agreements were announced at the signing ceremony were the MOUs on economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s Hainan and Shandong provinces.

The two leaders and their wives were at the meeting in Beijing on August 19. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte

Forging Vietnam-China relations
​

Relations between Vietnam and China have been on the rise after more than 30 years of normalization, especially in the 15 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008.

During the three-day visit to China starting from August 18, General Secretary and President To Lam met with Chinese top leaders, including General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning, and other senior officials.

General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping in a talk. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte​

The top-level talks focused on measures to strengthen relations between the two parties and the states, while promoting people-to-people links. In addition, the meetings largely addressed cooperation in various fields, mostly trade, and investment. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner with the bilateral trade hit US$230 billion in 2023.

At the meeting with To Lam, Xi Jinping said China has consistently prioritized Vietnam in its neighborhood diplomacy, supporting Vietnam’s adherence to the Party’s leadership, adoption of the socialist path appropriate to its circumstances, and advancement of renovation and socialist modernization. Xi also emphasized that he has developed a close friendship and positive working relationship with Lam.

Lam, meanwhile, described his visit to China as an affirmation by the Party and the Vietnamese government of the importance of the bilateral ties and stated that China is Vietnam’s top foreign policy priority.

General Secretary and President To Lam and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Photo: Van Hieu​

At the meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, To Lam welcomed China’s involvement in three planned standard railway lines linking Vietnam and China, as well as cooperation on the Vientiane-Vung Ang railway and urban railways in Hanoi.

Lam’s first stop during the visit was Guangzhou, Guangdong which borders Vietnam, where President Ho Chi Minh led revolutionary activities. The two sides stressed the importance of nurturing the Vietnam-China long-lasting youth relationship and boosting people-to-people exchanges.

Vietnam, China ink 14 agreements during To Lam’s visit

hanoitimes.vn

So, I found a very strange issue.

With so many agreements signed and such important content, none of the official Chinese media reported it. There was only news about To Lam's visit to China, with no reports on the agreements and signing.............

What does this mean? It’s worth pondering!

 

[ety]

So, I found a very strange issue.

With so many agreements signed and such important content, none of the official Chinese media reported it. There was only news about To Lam's visit to China, with no reports on the agreements and signing.............

What does this mean? It’s worth pondering!

I think China intentionally wants to keep low key as they don't know the new Vietnamese leader and the recent unpleasant moves by Vietnam in collaboration with Filipin and US in SCS. There are some brief reports of the agreements on some Chinese social media.